Big Four Bridge and future park win state award for Jeffersonville

The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns named Jeffersonville the winner of the 2014 IACT Community Achievement Award in the 20,0000 to 50,0000 population category.

The award recognizes communities around the state with significant achievements.

Jennifer Simmons, spokeswoman for IACT, said that a panel of nine judges made up of former elected or appointed officials in various Indiana municipalities looked for creativity and local cooperation as some of the award qualifications.

“I know that they thought it was an exciting project,” Simmons said. “I think what they really liked was the development that had come from the project.”

Several restaurants and breweries, including Flat 12 Bierwerks, Big Four Burgers + Beer and O’Shea’s Irish Pub, have opened in downtown Jeffersonville because of the cyclist and pedestrian bridge.

She also said the panel was impressed by the bridge’s massive popularity.

Mayor Mike Moore said he’s “just as proud as punch” that Jeffersonville won the award in its category.

“Jeffersonville has been a success story from the east end of town to the west end of town,” Moore said. “I think the state took all of that into consideration.”

He said the award is about more than just the bridge and park — it’s a sign of Jeffersonville’s growing status in the state.

“We’ve been working to build a new face for our city,” Moore said. “We’ve got a lot of things to be proud of, a lot of history.”

IACT is a coalition of officials around Indiana seeking to improve the quality of life throughout the state. Simmons said that both Big Four Bridge and Big Four Station do just that.

“I think more and more, we’re seeing projects that emphasize the quality of life in a community,” she said. “People see this now as a real economic development driver.”

That’s because outside businesses look for amenities for its employees when considering new places to locate.

“Any time you’re out of state investors come into your city and employ hundreds of thousands of dollars, to me that’s the real test that what you’re doing is working...

“I think this basically validates everything we’ve been doing.”